


meet Baby

by honey_you_should



Series: family [2]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Accidental Dog Acquisition, Dog adoption, Fluff, M/M, also pls don't touch winston's chunky peanutbutter, also yeah i've heard about hanzo's legs but, hanzo and jesse are engaged in this, i take a firm stance on prosthetic leg hanzo no matter what canon says, it makes him sad, jesse loves animals, this has been a psa, timeline: during canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-20
Updated: 2017-07-20
Packaged: 2018-12-04 16:05:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11558673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/honey_you_should/pseuds/honey_you_should
Summary: “Hey honey! Whatcha, uh-” Jesse’s eyes dart around and land on Hanzo’s discarded book “- readin’ there?”The bulge under Jesse’s arm wiggles.“I don’t know cowman, what are you hiding under your serape?”Or: the one where Jesse finds a dog on the beachYou don't have to read the first part for this one to make sense





	meet Baby

**Author's Note:**

> \- if you've read "a home in you": this takes place a few weeks after they get engaged
> 
> \- if you haven't: jesse and hanzo got engaged after jesse got badly injured on a mission. this takes place a few weeks after their proposals

Hanzo is comfortably laid out on his bed, reading a dog-eared copy of an old novel that Mei has lent him. It’s late in the evening and they’d all faced a hard day of training, so he is more than ready to wind down. He wishes that Jesse were here too, but he’s gone for a walk with Genji.

 

Hanzo smiles softly to himself at that thought, happy that the two still get along; once he found out how angry Jesse had been over Hanzo joining Overwatch, Hanzo had worried that he had formed a rift between the friends. But Jesse had assured him that he had been more angry at Hanzo than Genji and that his friend was aware of that. Strange as it was, Hanzo had felt reassured by the fact that Jesse was angry at him and not Genji. Once the cowboy got over his hatred of the idea of working with his best friend’s murderer, the friendship between him and Genji was as strong as ever.

 

Honestly, knowing his brother’s penchant for pranks and after getting to know Jesse’s mischievous side, Hanzo is entirely unsurprised that they get along so well; in fact, soon after becoming friendly with the crew, Hanzo had learned that the two of them had quickly earned a reputation for themselves on base when they started to collaborate on… projects.

 

For a moment, Hanzo casts his mind back some days to the most recent Incident – Winston’s “secret” stash of his favourite extra chunky peanut butter had mysteriously been raided and jars from said stash had been found all over the base. But of course the jars weren’t simply hidden, no, they each had felt tip faces and googly eyes and would show up in all sorts of places; the windowsill in the kitchen, the roof of the main building and strapped to a training bot were just a few examples.

 

And either Athena was hiding her knowledge of the culprit or they had somehow bypassed her, but she wasn’t able to tell them who was behind it.

 

However, given their track record and the mysterious resemblance that some of the felt-tip faces bore to a certain cowboy and ninja... well, the crew has their suspicions. The two never owned up to it but neither do they deny their culpability, and the fact that they’re always nearby to see people find the jars doesn’t exactly help to shift the blame from them.

 

Hanzo chuckles fondly and looks to the window, noting that a couple of hours have passed since he returned to his and Jesse’s room. Jesse should be back soon.

 

The orange-yellow light streaming in through the window calms him and being curled up in their bed (barely big enough for the two of them, honestly) means that he is surrounded by the smell of Jesse. So even with him out later than usual, being in their shared space soothes him from the day’s anxiety.

 

Hearing shuffling from the hall, Hanzo knows that it’s Jesse – they’re pretty much the only ones who live down this hall, and the faint jingles of Jesse’s spurs are quite unmistakable.

 

... But something seems suspicious. It sounds like Jesse is shuffling. And as the door slides open, Jesse scoots inside with uncharacteristic slowness.

 

As Jesse slowly closes the door behind himself and turns around to face the room, Hanzo quietly sits up and puts his book down. By the time Jesse looks over at him, Hanzo has his arms crossed and is sporting an expectant expression (which almost dissolves into laughter the moment that Hanzo sees Jesse’s deer-in-the-headlights face).

 

The snuffling bulge hidden by Jesse’s coat and serape doesn’t ease Hanzo’s suspicions at all.

 

“Hey honey! Whatcha, uh-” Jesse’s eyes dart around and land on Hanzo’s discarded book “- readin’ there?”

 

The bulge under Jesse’s arm wiggles.

 

“I don’t know cowman, what are you hiding under your serape?”

 

Seeing an opening of sorts, Jesse rolls his shoulders back and wiggles his eyebrows, winking, “wouldn’t’cha like t’know?”

 

The bulge gives one final, vigorous wriggle and Jesse scrambles to catch it before it falls to the ground.

 

A loud yip echoes through the suddenly silent room.

 

Jesse McCree has a deep-rooted love of animals. Hanzo knows this. Jesse McCree is compassionate and sometimes his heart seems to be too big to fit in his chest, if you really get to know him. Hanzo knows this. Jesse McCree does not like to endanger those that do not deserve it. Hanzo knows this.

 

None of that explains what’s happening right now.

 

“Jesse McCree. Why are you holding a dog.”

 

Jesse seems to panic a little at the sound of Hanzo’s voice, completely devoid of emotion and making the tension in the room rise to near-unbearable levels.

 

“Please don’t be mad, honey, I can explain!” Jesse pleads. Hanzo raises an expectant eyebrow. “Listen sugar, she’s hurt. We gotta help her. I found her a way down the beach as I was makin’ ma way back – she was whimperin’ and limpin’ an’ I couldn’t very well jus’ leave her there! Looksie, she’s jus’ a lil’ pup, sweetie. She clearly has nowhere to go, we can’t jus’ leave her to fend for herself!”

 

Oh no. Jesse is gently cradling the puppy close to his chest, carefully wrapping her up in his serape and he’s looking at Hanzo with _those_ eyes.

 

Hanzo is a strong-willed man. He holds his ground and he cannot be easily swayed from his stance. Above all, he does _not_ have soft spots.

 

… Except, perhaps, for his fiancé holding an injured puppy and begging him to help it with those big, brown puppy-dog eyes of his.

 

“This is no place for dogs, Jesse.” and the cowboy practically lights up when Hanzo uses his first name. Trying to not let his facade crack, Hanzo continues, “Our line of work is not safe. What if you are injured again? If you keep this dog, what will happen to her if you are hurt?”

 

“So you’re saying we could maybe keep her?” Jesse grins, the shine of his smile practically blinding.

 

Hanzo sputters a little, but is not quite ready to throw in the towel on this one. “What if she belongs to someone? What if she has requirements that we cannot meet? What if she has a disease? Angela is not a vet!” Jesse had been opening his mouth to say something and Hanzo could see her name forming. Jesse shuts his mouth with a frowny pout and _why does that make him look even more cute?_

 

“But baby,” Jesse has finished wrapping the puppy up, being gentle and careful in his ministrations the entire time, “we gotta help her. Overwatch is a military organisation, I know that, but we can help her. We don’ even gotta keep her, but we oughta at leas’ patch her up.” He looks Hanzo straight in the eyes as he says that and Hanzo can see the pup cradled to his chest out of his peripherals. He sounds so emotional yet so very stubborn in his stance.

 

And, really, what is the harm in helping a puppy? Especially if they don’t even have to keep it. Hanzo feels his stubbornness melt away as Jesse gently strokes over what is left visible of the pup-burrito.

 

… So maybe Hanzo definitely has one soft spot. In the shape of a cowboy with too much love in his heart.

 

Hanzo sighs and uncrosses his arms.

 

“So be it. We will take her to Angela. Have her see if she can do anything about the injuries, make her promise to not skin us... Actually, we might want to lead with that... And I am making no promise to keep the dog.” Hanzo tries to glare at his fiancé, but he has a hard time doing so when he has a face-full of Jesse’s shoulder and almost a lapful of cowboy and dog.

 

Jesse pulls away from his no-armed hug and starts to excitedly chatter about what possible dog breed she is as he waits for Hanzo to put on his legs. Hanzo looks over at the pair and sees the puppy snuggle into Jesse’s gentle embrace as the two are illuminated by the soft glow of the evening sun, looking warm and soft and happy. In that moment, Hanzo silently accepts that if Jesse asks him to keep the dog then he won’t say no.

 

Others, however, might.

 

Judging by the fierce look in Angela’s eyes and her foot agitatedly tap-tap-tapping as the boys explain their situation, she isn’t a big fan of the idea of keeping the puppy. She practically huffs and puffs as she threatens to have both of them grounded – “you are an accessory to this crime, Hanzo!” – for the next month for bringing in wild animals with no reassurance that they aren’t infected with something.

 

If Jesse hadn’t looked so worried and the puppy didn’t keep whining in pain, Angela might have sent them packing.

 

“I’m not qualified for this! Why don’t you two just take her to a vet?” Angela exclaims, though she knows it’s a stupid question before she even asks it; Jesse has a huge bounty on his head that has people from all over the place looking for him and Hanzo Shimada is not an entirely forgotten face or name, either.

 

“Angie, you know I can’t just stroll into a public place all willy nilly! And neither can Han, really.” Jesse confirms her thoughts. “Plus, I’m purrty sure most places are closed by now and the pupper really can’t wait ‘til the mornin’. I think she’s broken somethin’.” Jesse casts a worried look at the grey-ish furball in his arms and Angela sighs, rubbing her eyes.

 

“Alright. Fine. I’ll see what I can do. But I make no promises to vouch for you once Winston finds out.”

 

Angela leads them into a small room across from her office, explaining that the room has a lock and is slightly more soundproof than the rest of her infirmary; thus, if someone were to walk in, they wouldn’t be likely to find the dog. Inside, there’s a couple of cots against the opposite wall and a desk with a chair to the right wall. Both cots have a chair at their head, presumably for visitors, and the room is illuminated by the fluorescent lights in the ceiling.

 

Angela asks Jesse to put the puppy on the cot and he does so, chattering the whole time; he sounds like a stream bubbling over, words flooding out. Somewhere in the midst is “thank you, Angie!” and “this means a lot, I really owe ya one-” and “settle down now Baby, be a good girl-” and “look Hanners! She’s hooked her paw in ma shirt! Oh sweet Baby, lie down now-”.

 

Hanzo looks on fondly, arms crossed but stance relaxed. Once Jesse has unwrapped the dog, Hanzo picks up the serape and folds it, setting it down at the end of the cot.

 

When Jesse has the puppy settled on the bed, he turns a little to face Angela, though he keeps petting the puppy with his right hand.

 

“Well, I suppose the first order of business is seeing if she has a microchip, though she does not have a collar so she’s probably a street dog,” Angela starts. “We should also identify what breed she is, in case someone has lost her. And I will run a scan on her to see what kind of internal damage we’re looking at, after which we should sponge her down.”

 

 _A proper bath would be welcome_ , Hanzo thinks to himself, noting that – upon closer inspection – there is mud and sand practically _caked_ in some places.

 

Hanzo nods curtly and Jesse voices his agreement. He’s still petting the dog and he’s looking at her with a lot of fondness.

 

“Jesse,” Angela says softly and out of the corner of her eye she sees Hanzo tense. He probably knows what she’s about to say and doesn’t like it one bit. She has her duties, however, so she presses on. “I cannot allow you to keep this puppy. I will have to report back to Winston and you will have to give her to an animal shelter.”

 

Jesse’s muscles visibly coil as he tenses. However, much to the surprise of everyone in the room, he does not protest. He hangs his head and continues to pet the puppy for a few moments, before turning to lock his eyes onto Angela’s.

 

“Angie. You’re one o’ my bes’ friends. And I hate to disobey ya. So I won’ go makin’ promises about givin’ this pup away knowin’ I might not follow through. But I appreciate that you’re worried ‘n’ that there’s protocol to follow, so thank you again for helpin’ us. But don’ go makin’ me promise things I can’t guarantee.”

 

The doctor huffs and crosses her arms, but there’s a smile tugging at her lips and she rolls her eyes almost fondly. “You, Mr. McCree, are a nuisance.” She then leaves to grab her equipment, leaving the room silent save for the sounds of a shuffling puppy.

 

Angela returns a few minutes later with some equipment and once Jesse has the puppy laid out and relatively still on the cot, she starts to circle the puppy with it; she’s looking at the handheld screen intently and Hanzo supposes that it’s some sort of scanner. As she’s passing it over the puppy’s head, the little ball of fur lifts her snout and bops her nose against the scanner and then again against Angela’s hand.

 

She’s loathe to admit it, but that pulls at her heartstrings. Just a little. If she has a smile on her face, it’s unrelated to that, even if she’s distinctly avoiding eye contact with the two who saw it happen.

 

After a few minutes of tense silence, Angela announces that the puppy has a couple of broken bones but no internal bleeding and certainly nothing that can’t be fixed.

 

Angela also confirms that she is without a microchip, but says that she will take a few pictures of the dog and try to find out what breed she is.

 

“Perhaps she was lost before she could be chipped, or maybe her owner never intended for her to be chipped.  Either way, the information might prove to be of use. Furthermore, I need to set her bones as well as provide some more superficial treatments for her wounds.” Angela explains, “In theory it’s nothing particularly challenging, but I have never operated on a fully-grown dog, let alone a small puppy; so, I need time to research as much as I can into this to see what I can do for the puppy without hurting her. And we need to clean her before I start doing anything.”

 

The puppy starts to shift more, clearly tired of having to sit in one place despite her movements obviously being pained. Jesse nods to Angela while turning his attention to the puppy to keep her still.

 

Angela leaves them for a few minutes to go fetch what she needs and returns with a sponge, cloth, towel and a small plastic tub filled with water.

 

“I will need one of you to keep her calm and still and the other to help me scrub her,” Angela instructs, putting the equipment down next to the puppy.

 

“I’ll keep ‘er calm,” Jesse volunteers and Hanzo just nods and picks the cloth out of the tub. Angela scoops up and wrings out the sponge and then her and Hanzo set to carefully getting rid of as much of the dirt as possible.

 

Twenty minutes later and the puppy seems to be as clean as they’ll be able to get her with just water.

 

“Alright, you two towel her off and keep her as docile and unmoving as possible while I gather information,” Angela says, putting the sponge and cloth into the tub of dirty water and picking up the container.

 

“How much time will your research require?” Hanzo asks before she leaves. He’s trying to keep his attention on her, though he’s slowly being distracted by the puppy nudging against his hand.

 

Angela considers the question for a few moments, watching Jesse murmur to the puppy as he softly rubs the towel over her legs and Hanzo reaches to scratch behind her ears gently. “Well, Athena has a large database and I might have some files in my own archive that could be of use... Oh, and there’s someone that I can get in contact with for long-term healing advice should we need it, so- wait, Jesse, didn’t you grow up on a farm?”

 

Jesse startles at the use of his name. “What’s that, darlin’?”

 

“You grew up on a farm, correct? And you used to have dogs?”

 

Jesse looks a little confused, tipping his hat up with his free hand and scratching at his hairline, before he cottons on to what Angela is implying. “Yeah, we raised dogs, but I ne’er patched ‘em up or nothin’. Either my pa would do it or we’d take ‘em to a vet iffin they got real bad. I ain’t even put stitches on a dog before. Sorry, darlin’.” He offers Angela a small smile and she hums in lieu of an answer, before thinking something over again.

 

“That’s unfortunate, but I’ll manage. All in all, it should take me a couple of hours of prep and then we’ll be good to go. In the meantime, you two need to keep her happy and relaxed.” Even as she says this, Angela warily eyes the energetic pup attempting to catch the towel. She seems to want to play tug of war with the fabric, which does not bode well for her injuries.

 

Hanzo gives her confirmation that he’s heard her, but they’re both entirely preoccupied with the puppy now; it’s sort of really adorable to see them like this, sat on either side of the puppy and cooing at her. Hanzo carefully strokes down her back and Jesse pets her head and the puppy has her eyes closed and is leaning her head into Jesse’s palm.

 

Angela whips around and leaves them there before she can do something silly like _join_ them.

 

She is about fifteen minutes into her research when she hears a muffled bellow of laughter coming from the other room. Angela smiles to herself, albeit a little sadly. She has to make them give the puppy away. This is no place for dogs. The puppy would be better off being adopted by a civilian.

 

On that slightly distracted note, she starts looking through nearby animal shelters and comes across some statistics. Specifically, the stats for the number of animals put down in said shelters if they aren’t adopted in time. She’s reluctant to admit it, but she doesn’t want to subject the puppy or her friends to that... but she has to, doesn’t she?

 

“Focus, Angela,” she berates herself and closes that train of thought.

 

About halfway into her research, she remembers wanting to find out the breed. After a few minutes of searching, she has Athena checking public police listings and such to see if anyone is looking for a Sarplaninac puppy.

 

Out of curiosity, Angela does a quick search for the breed and chuckles to herself as she reads a couple of lines about their characteristics. Specifically, the website lists that they are: “Stubborn, Devoted, Intelligent, Protective, Reliable, Calm, Independent”. Of course Jesse would happen across the dog that is the living embodiment of both himself and Hanzo.

 

A couple of minutes later, Athena’s voice rings out: “I have checked public police listings and a website commonly used to report missing neighbourhood dogs to see if there are any canines matching the physical description of this puppy. I have found none. Should I check the listings of nearby police branches?”

 

Angela deliberates for some moments, then answers, “Yes. If you find no matches, tell me as well as Jesse and Hanzo that the puppy is without owners. If you find a match, report to me please.”

 

Athena gives her confirmation and Angela returns to her reading.

 

A few minutes later, it turns out that the puppy is completely homeless.

 

After extensive-as-can-be-in-a-two-hour-period research, Angela figures out a way to mend and set the bones (as well as how to safely apply stitches) with the aid of biotic fields and a mild dose of what Ana uses in her tranq darts because they don’t really have anything else suited for _dogs_.

 

She’s giving her notes one last look as she walks back into the other room. “Well, I have everything prepared, so if you-”

 

Angela stops short as she looks up from her files and sees the scene before her: two fully grown, heavily muscled men are crammed onto one small cot (seemingly not falling off the sides through sheer willpower and maybe magic) with a puppy laid out on top of both of them. The puppy has her eyes closed and tongue lolling out, happily accepting the pats and scratches and kisses and boops she receives as the two on the bed coo and giggle at her.

 

When the puppy realises that Angela was speaking, she whips her head around and yips at her, though Jesse is quick to shush and calm her. He smiles at Angela a little sheepishly and explains, “Baby likes to be tall.”

 

Hanzo huffs a laugh and Angela is certain that she’s never seen him smile this much at any one time.

 

“She gets nervous when she cannot see the whole room and if she doesn’t receive constant attention she gets fidgety. This seems like a good and reasonable solution.” His voice is sure and confident, but he’s blushing lightly and keeps booping the puppy in lieu of making eye contact.

 

Angela feels her stomach sink. “You have already named her, haven’t you.” It’s not a question and everyone knows the answer.

 

There’s a lengthy pause. Angela hasn’t moved from her spot by the door. The grey fluff of puppy continues to snuffle at the two men.

 

At last, Jesse speaks up in a low voice, “Look, Angie, we know that this ain’t the place for a pup. We ain’t runnin’ a pet-friendly business. She ain’t even our pup in the firs’ place – in fact, she’s no-one’s pup. An’ if we gotta give her away, that’s fair.” He finally looks up at Angela, making proper eye contact for the first time since she walked into the room. “But her name is Baby an’ she deserves better than to sit in a cage waitin’ and hopin’ for someone who can adopt her when we can give her a lovin’ home right here.”

 

There is no room for argument. There are no “if”s and “but”s to be had.  If they’re made to give the puppy away, they’ll sneak her in if they have to. In one night the puppy has acquired two dads and there’s no two ways about it.

 

Angela sighs in resignation as she massages her temples. “You already know what Winston will say. I cannot help you with that. But I can help the puppy, so get off of her cot and let me do my not-job.”

 

Jesse grins and as soon as they have Baby carefully settled on the bed, he runs over to her and grabs her in a hug, giving her a kiss on the top of her head. “You’re the best, Ang’. Thank you.” She pushes Jesse away and mutters something about “don’t thank me yet”, but there’s no real anger in her voice or stance as she walks over to the cot where Hanzo is gently holding Baby down.

 

He hasn’t said much throughout this ordeal, but as she comes up to him, he bows slightly to her. In a hushed voice, he says “Thank you for doing this, Angela. I appreciate it greatly.”

 

She knows that he isn’t talking about helping the puppy, but she decides to not mention it. As he straightens up, Angela gets to work with the anaesthetic, quickly and efficiently putting the puppy into a medically induced coma. “Don’t you go giving me kisses, too. Praise will get you far but I’m still mad at you both for being so irresponsible.” She tries to sound stern, but she’s smiling a little and there’s no real bite to her words. Hanzo almost smiles at her, nodding his head, then goes over to Jesse; the cowboy extends his hand and Hanzo intertwines their fingers, leaving Angela with the pup.

 

In a matter of hours, the puppy has had her broken bones set, stitches have been applied to her superficial wounds and a bowl of nutritionally supplemented water has been set down next to her.

 

As soon as she wakes, Baby seeks out Jesse. It’s quite late into the night now (a little into the early hours, actually) and both men had taken to napping in the chairs by the cot once Angela let them back into the room.

 

Jesse is awake as soon as he hears the puppy yipping wearily, by her side in an instant and scratching her favourite spot to calm her down. Hanzo is on his feet soon thereafter, wrapping his arms around Jesse’s waist and leaning against his back tiredly in a sleepy show of support.

 

Baby seems to be doing much better already and after a few moments, Jesse manages to convince her to take a few drinks of the water; she doesn’t seem to be too fond of the taste but is apparently too thirsty to care much. They’ll have to get her some proper food soon, though they’ll have to find something puppy-friendly in the kitchen until then.

 

Jesse quietly mentions going shopping for puppy food tomorrow to Hanzo, who nods in agreement and moves to stand next to Jesse. He offers to go with the cowboy and talks about how they should probably get the puppy a plastic cone to keep her from biting at her stitches and maybe also a chewy toy. Jesse hooks his left arm over Hanzo’s shoulders and Hanzo wraps his right arm around Jesse’s back as they pet the puppy and continue to make plans in low voices.

 

Angela walks back in after packing up her equipment and is stopped short again. She blinks a few times, almost pinches herself. Because she sees something that she never thought (but always hoped) she would see – Jesse is developing his own _family_.

 

Jesse, who joined Blackwatch after getting into prison because of Deadlock. Jesse, who was angry and lonely for so long. Who put up a lax and friendly facade, but showed up at Angela’s door drunk and high and injured so many times.

 

Jesse, who once admitted his fear of dying alone.

 

Of course the crew is basically one big family, especially the original members, but this? Jesse recently got engaged to the man that he clearly loves and now they’ve-

 

Well, they’ve essentially adopted a puppy. Jesse has even somehow managed to get Hanzo to lean down to the puppy’s eye-level alongside him and has the archer making _cooing_ sounds at her.

 

Hanzo, who they had all previously known as the heir to the Shimada empire and Genji’s murderer. Who they had come to accept into their group through a lot of work and time and effort.

 

And Hanzo looks so _happy_ to be there with Jesse, cooing at their dog and teasing each other about who’s being more silly.

 

“Careful you two, I might have to get fillings if you keep being so sweet,” she says with a teasing smile, laughing as both men turn halfway to face her and start some argument about how they aren’t being _that_ cutesy.

 

Jesse walks up to Angela after a moment, taking his hat off with one hand and holding it to his chest. “Thank you for doin’ this, Angie. I know you don’t want us to keep her and I agree that it might be dangerous for her, but thank you for helpin’ us anyway. We’ll report to Winston and face wha’s comin’ tomorrow- uh, later today.”

 

“Nonsense Jesse, of course you two won’t take the full blame. Baby is now my responsibility as well, given that her health is mostly in my hands.” Jesse huffs and puts his hat back on, putting his hands on his hips with a smile.

 

“Come on, Ang’, I already owe ya big time for this. I can’t be makin’ ya face Winston like yer guilty o’ somethin’.”

 

Angela smiles. “He will not stay angry at me for long and if you have me on your side, he’ll be more amicable to this whole ordeal anyway. Come now,” she raises her hand in a halting motion before Jesse can protest further, “a simple thank-you will suffice for now, we have to get Baby warm and settled down for the night.”

 

So the three of them set out to sneak a quietly confused puppy into Jesse and Hanzo’s room without detection. Athena is asked to keep quiet about this to the others until they can face Winston themselves, to which she thankfully agrees.

 

An hour later, Jesse and Hanzo are curled up in bed with the puppy carefully laid out between them. Angela had stayed in the room with Hanzo and then Jesse to look after the pup as they took turns showering, and had left about forty-five minutes ago after wishing them both goodnight and receiving thanks again. Jesse and Hanzo had set up a makeshift bed for the puppy, made of some worn shirts and socks and a pillow. They’d just gotten settled into bed when they heard Baby shuffling and snuffling followed by an angry yip and the skitter of paws on the floor.

 

Jesse had instantly shot out of bed, scooping up the puppy and softly berating her for not sleeping, though he sounded far too fond to actually come across as stern. Hanzo had chuckled and told them to get to bed and Jesse had happily brought her over to lie between them.

 

As Hanzo feels himself drifting off, the bed shifts slightly and a moment later he feels Jesse pressing a kiss to his temple. Hanzo opens his eyes and smiles softly when he sees Jesse sat up and leaning over their puppy with his right arm braced by Hanzo’s head; the look on Jesse’s face is so soft and adoring that Hanzo knows he’d be cradling his face with his other hand if he had his arm on.

 

Jesse presses a chaste kiss to his lips, murmuring “Thank you for helpin’ me with this, Han. An’ thank you for agreein’ to keep the puppy.” He places another soft kiss on Hanzo’s lips.

 

Hanzo chuckles, “Oh you silly cowman, you know I can deny you very little.”

 

“What would I do without ya, sweetpea?” Jesse chuckles, brushing his lips against Hanzo’s forhead.

 

“Hmm, you’d be lost without me, that’s for certain,” Hanzo quips with a grin. Then he tilts his head up for another kiss before Jesse can protest and pushes him back with a comment about needing to get to sleep before the sun rises.

 

 

 

 

And that was how they adopted their first puppy. Winston was less than pleased about the situation, though he gave in after Jesse promised to keep his secret peanut butter stash safe from those dang bandits. And after Winston had grounded both Jesse and Hanzo for a month. Angela got grounded too, for involvement, but she hadn’t been the one to bring the puppy in _or_ claim ownership of it, so her sentence was lighter (two weeks).

 

Reinhardt was absolutely delighted by the new addition to the crew, scooping her up surprisingly gently and lowering his voice (though it still sounded a lot like shouting) as he cuddled her and told them about the dogs he used to own. Baby had been surprisingly happy with this turn of events, revelling in the attention that he bestowed upon her.

 

Lena had been passing through the rec room in which they had settled and instantly gravitated to the puppy, squealing quietly and taking care with her petting once Jesse explained to the others that Baby was injured.

 

Reinhardt had told Ana and Jack had found out along the way, and though both Jack and Ana were initially reluctant to accept this decision, they eventually came around. In time, Baby actually took quite the liking to those two, sometimes even seeking them out just to sit with them while they worked.

 

Genji was absolutely delighted to see the puppy and would tease his brother endlessly for being so soft on Jesse that he let him ( _helped_ him, even) adopt a dog; being a fair and loving brother, of course, Genji also mercilessly poked fun at Jesse for naming a puppy _Baby_ of all things – the teasing got worse when Baby grew up to be a massive, two-foot tall dog that Jesse continued to pick up and cuddle like he did when she was a pup.

 

In no time at all, Baby became a proud member of their crew. She was spoiled by everyone and seemed to brighten spirits wherever she went. She probably didn’t mean to – in fact, she was rather reclusive once her puppy energy wore off and that was when Satya _really_ grew fond of her and Baby seemed to take a liking to her as well; Baby would accompany Satya to her work lab sometimes, getting treats from Torb if he had any lying around and growling if Junk got too close to her.

 

The team enjoyed having her around and made sure to spoil her with some Forbidden Human Food every now and then when Hanzo had his back turned (Jesse was as guilty as the others in giving in to her puppy eyes).

 

And so, their family grew.

**Author's Note:**

> welp, hope you liked it! i'll be away from home for a week next week so writing will be slow, but i'm working on the next instalment for this series already ^^
> 
> if you wanna scream at me, i'm here:
> 
> meowing-ly.tumblr.com


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